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The New England Patriots Are Just The Modern Day Raiders

By Erik Lambert

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Jan 18, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) talks with head coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels during the second quarter against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Four-time Super Bowl champion and former GM Matt Millen often brought up one of the most memorable first impressions he encountered when he was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 1980.  It occurred when he first entered the locker room as a player.

A lot of people don’t remember the Raiders as they were in those days.  A rogue outfit that embraced a bad boy reputation, always seeking some kind of edge whether it skirted the rules or not.  That could mean applying adhesive to their hands to improve catching (dubbed Stickem), wearing cast-like pads to increasing the impact of their hits, or even watering down the field to make the footing difficult and slow down faster offenses.

The accusations were miles long in those days and the Raiders took a lot of flak from the league for it from penalties to fines to suspensions.  Always they proclaimed it was like everybody was out to get them and they did nothing wrong.

Such is how guilty people often act.

The New England Patriots can certainly relate.  Like Oakland did during that time periods of the 1970s and early ‘80s, this team is doing a lot of winning but at the same time continue to get caught trying to skirt the rules.  Spygate was first and now Deflategate is another, resulting in the upheld suspension of their future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady.

Naturally this has everybody in the organization crying foul, stating the NFL is just out to get them and that they did nothing wrong.  Sound familiar?  The thing is the Patriots have been caught breaking the rules to find an edge.  Like a rat infestation, when one problem shows up it likely means there’s many more ongoing that haven’t been noticed.

Brady can say destroying his phone is common practice, but the fact of the matter is he had his chances to cooperate and never provided clear cut evidence of his own that proved his innocence when a lot of clues pointed at his involvement.

The difference here is that the NFL is willing to make a ruling based on the circumstantial.  New England may not like it, but sometimes a hefty price must be paid for not doing things the right way and instead prefer their “Patriot way.”

Those who once embraced the “Raider way” know exactly how they feel at this point.

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